UFC Fight Night: Mitrione vs. Jordan

Matt Mitrione (6-3) vs. Shawn Jordan (15-5)

After losing three of his past four fights, Matt Mitrione will look to get back in the win column on Saturday when he matches up against a fellow former football player in Shawn Jordan at UFC Fight Night in Macao, China.

Mitrione got off to a fast start in his UFC career, winning his first five matches. However, he is just 1-3 since that run, including a loss in his last bout to Brendan Schaub on Sept. 21. In that fight, Mitrione was choked out in the first round, unable to get anything going with a 14-7 striking disadvantage. Mitrione, who played six seasons in the NFL as a defensive tackle with the Giants and Vikings, does posses unbelievable knockout power though, as he dropped Phil De Fries in his most recent victory last April, winning in just 19 seconds. While his strength is one of his biggest advantages, he will have his hands full in that area against Shawn Jordan, a former LSU football player. Like Mitrione, he is coming off a loss in his most recent fight on Oct. 19, falling to Gabriel Gonzaga just 1:33 into the first round. Both men have their chance to get back on the winning track and try to move up into the heavyweight rankings, and while Mitrione is a talented fighter, it will be JORDAN that is able to use his strength to win what should be an absolute slugfest.

"The Savage" Jordan has 15 career victories, with 11 of them are coming by way of knockout. However, he also has the ability to win a fight by submission, winning three in that fashion with only one career win coming by decision. He enters this bout with four wins in his past six fights, and Jordan will have a takedown advantage in this fight though, as he averages 1.54 takedowns, while Mitrione does not have an average. With his strength and former days as a football player where he played fullback, Jordan does a great job of using balance and leverage, getting low to the ground and exploding up with the strength in his legs that support is 6-foot, 260-pound frame. The 29-year-old Jordan is also very good with his takedown defense, defending 77 percent of his opponents' takedowns, compared to Mitrione, who defends just 54 percent. In a fight between two closely-matched combatants, Jordan must take care of business and fight his style, because if he doesn’t, Mitrione can get back on the winning track in a hurry.

Like Jordan, most of Mitrione’s victories come by way of knockout, as five of his six wins have ended in that fashion, with two coming in the first round and 3 KOs occurring in round two. He also has one victory by decision. The 35-year-old Mitrione's big advantage coming into this fight is his strikes landed, where he averages 3.65 per minute, compared to just 3.14 for Jordan. Another big advantage will be his height, as he stands three inches taller than his opponent and outweighs him by five pounds. That could play a huge role in a fight like this as he can use his reach to keep Jordan away from him and really attack with his strikes. Both of these former football players are very strong, and have the ability to end the fight quickly, which is why the line is so even.